Latest news with #Zemp
Shafaq News
21-03-2025
- Science
- Shafaq News
UN warns: "Unprecedented" glacier loss due to climate change
Shafaq News/ Global glacier melt has reached record levels, with the past three years marking the largest ice mass loss ever recorded, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said on Friday. Michael Zemp, head of the World Glacier Monitoring Service, also said at a press conference in Geneva that glaciers have lost 9,000 gigatons of ice since 1975 — roughly equivalent to a "huge ice block of the size of Germany with a thickness of 25 meters." Five of the past six years saw record losses, including 450 gigatons of ice in 2024 alone, Zemp said. The melting is expected to accelerate further across regions including the Arctic, the Alps, South America and the Tibetan Plateau, as global temperatures rise due to climate change. Glacier retreat is already contributing to rising sea levels, increasing the risk of flooding for millions and threatening freshwater systems that support agriculture and hydropower for billions. Glaciers, along with ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, account for around 70% of the world's freshwater reserves. The findings were released ahead of a UNESCO summit in Paris marking the first International Day of Glaciers, where officials are expected to call for coordinated international action to preserve remaining glacier systems. 🗻 Join us for the first-ever #WorldGlaciersDay and commemoration of #WorldWaterDay!Glaciers are the guardians of the Earth's future. Learn how we can protect these frozen giants ⬇️📅 21 March 2025⏰ 10am EDT📺 🔗 — UN DESA (@UNDESA) March 20, 2025
Asharq Al-Awsat
21-03-2025
- Science
- Asharq Al-Awsat
World's Glaciers are Losing Record Ice as Global Temperatures Climb, UN Says
Glaciers around the globe are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record, according to a UNESCO report released on Friday. The 9,000 gigatons of ice lost from glaciers since 1975 are roughly equivalent to "an ice block the size of Germany with the thickness of 25 meters," Michael Zemp, director of the Switzerland-based World Glacier Monitoring Service, said during a press conference announcing the report at the UN headquarters in Geneva. The dramatic ice loss, from the Arctic to the Alps, from South America to the Tibetan Plateau, is expected to accelerate as climate change, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, pushes global temperatures higher. This would likely exacerbate economic, environmental and social problems across the world as sea levels rise and these key water sources dwindle. The report coincides with a UNESCO summit in Paris marking the first World Day for Glaciers, urging global action to protect glaciers around the world, Reuters said. Zemp said that five of the last six years registered the largest losses, with glaciers losing 450 gigatons of mass in 2024 alone. The accelerated loss has made mountain glaciers one of the largest contributors to sea level rise, putting millions at risk of devastating floods and damaging water routes that billions of people depend on for hydroelectric energy and agriculture. Stefan Uhlenbrook, the director of water and cryosphere at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said that about 275,000 glaciers remain globally which, along with the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, comprise about 70% of the world's freshwater. "We need to advance our scientific knowledge, we need to advance through better observing systems, through better forecasts and better early warning systems for the planet and the people," Uhlenbrook said. DANGERS AND DEITIES About 1.1 billion people live in mountain communities, which suffer the most immediate impacts of glacier loss, due to the increasing risks with natural hazards and unreliable water sources. The remote locations and difficult terrains also make cheap fixes difficult to come by. Rising temperatures are expected to worsen droughts in areas that rely on snowpack for freshwater, while increasing both the severity and frequency of hazards like avalanches, landslides, flash floods and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). One Peruvian farmer living downstream of a retreating glacier has taken the issue to court, suing German energy giant RWE for a portion of the glacial lake's flood defenses proportionate to its historic global emissions. "The changes we see in the field are literally heartbreaking," glaciologist Heidi Sevestre, secretariat at the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, told Reuters outside the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on Wednesday. "Things in certain regions are happening actually much faster than we anticipated," Sevestre added, noting a recent trip to the Rwenzori Mountains, located in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in East Africa, where glaciers are now expected to disappear by 2030. Sevestre has worked with the region's indigenous Bakonzo communities who believe a deity called Kitasamba lives in the glaciers. "Can you imagine the deep spiritual connection, this strong attachment they have towards the glaciers and what it might mean for them that their glaciers are disappearing?" Sevestre said. Glacial melt in East Africa has led to increased local conflicts over water, according to the new UNESCO report, and while the impact on a global scale is minimal, the trickle of melting glaciers around the world is having a compounding impact. Between 2000 and 2023, melting mountain glaciers have caused 18 millimeters of global sea level rise, about 1 mm per year. Every millimeter can expose up to 300,000 people to annual flooding, according to the World Glacier Monitoring Service. "Billions of people are connected to glaciers, whether they know it or not, and that will require billions of people to protect them," Sevestre said.
Japan Times
21-03-2025
- Science
- Japan Times
World's glaciers are losing record ice as global temperatures climb, U.N. says
Glaciers around the globe are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record, according to a UNESCO report released on Friday. The 9,000 gigatons of ice lost from glaciers since 1975 are roughly equivalent to "an ice block the size of Germany with the thickness of 25 meters," Michael Zemp, director of the Switzerland-based World Glacier Monitoring Service, said during a news conference announcing the report at the U.N. headquarters in Geneva. The dramatic ice loss, from the Arctic to the Alps, from South America to the Tibetan Plateau, is expected to accelerate as climate change, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, pushes global temperatures higher. This would likely exacerbate economic, environmental and social problems across the world as sea levels rise and these key water sources dwindle. The report coincides with a UNESCO summit in Paris marking the first World Day for Glaciers, urging global action to protect glaciers around the world. Zemp said that five of the last six years registered the largest losses, with glaciers losing 450 gigatons of mass in 2024 alone. The accelerated loss has made mountain glaciers one of the largest contributors to sea level rise, putting millions at risk of devastating floods and damaging water routes that billions of people depend on for hydroelectric energy and agriculture. Stefan Uhlenbrook, the director of water and cryosphere at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said that about 275,000 glaciers remain globally which, along with the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, comprise about 70% of the world's freshwater. "We need to advance our scientific knowledge, we need to advance through better observing systems, through better forecasts and better early warning systems for the planet and the people," Uhlenbrook said. About 1.1 billion people live in mountain communities, which suffer the most immediate impacts of glacier loss, due to the increasing risks with natural hazards and unreliable water sources. The remote locations and difficult terrains also make cheap fixes difficult to come by. Rising temperatures are expected to worsen droughts in areas that rely on snowpack for freshwater, while increasing both the severity and frequency of hazards like avalanches, landslides, flash floods and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). One Peruvian farmer living downstream of a retreating glacier has taken the issue to court, suing German energy giant RWE for a portion of the glacial lake's flood defenses proportionate to its historic global emissions. "The changes we see in the field are literally heartbreaking," glaciologist Heidi Sevestre, secretariat at the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, said outside the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on Wednesday. "Things in certain regions are happening actually much faster than we anticipated," Sevestre added, noting a recent trip to the Rwenzori Mountains, located in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in East Africa, where glaciers are now expected to disappear by 2030. Sevestre has worked with the region's indigenous Bakonzo communities who believe a deity called Kitasamba lives in the glaciers. "Can you imagine the deep spiritual connection, this strong attachment they have towards the glaciers and what it might mean for them that their glaciers are disappearing?" Sevestre said. Glacial melt in East Africa has led to increased local conflicts over water, according to the new UNESCO report, and while the impact on a global scale is minimal, the trickle of melting glaciers around the world is having a compounding impact. Between 2000 and 2023, melting mountain glaciers have caused 18 millimeters of global sea level rise, about 1 mm per year. Every millimeter can expose up to 300,000 people to annual flooding, according to the World Glacier Monitoring Service. "Billions of people are connected to glaciers, whether they know it or not, and that will require billions of people to protect them," Sevestre said.
Reuters
21-03-2025
- Science
- Reuters
World's glaciers are losing record ice as global temperatures climb, U.N. says
March 21 (Reuters) - Glaciers around the globe are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record, according to a UNESCO report, opens new tab released on Friday. The 9,000 gigatons of ice lost from glaciers since 1975 are roughly equivalent to "an ice block the size of Germany with the thickness of 25 meters," Michael Zemp, director of the Switzerland-based World Glacier Monitoring Service, said during a press conference announcing the report at the UN headquarters in Geneva. The dramatic ice loss, from the Arctic to the Alps, from South America to the Tibetan Plateau, opens new tab, is expected to accelerate as climate change, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, pushes global temperatures higher. This would likely exacerbate economic, environmental and social problems across the world as sea levels rise and these key water sources dwindle. The report coincides with a UNESCO summit in Paris marking the first World Day for Glaciers, urging global action to protect glaciers around the world. Zemp said that five of the last six years registered the largest losses, with glaciers losing 450 gigatons of mass in 2024 alone. The accelerated loss has made mountain glaciers one of the largest contributors to sea level rise, putting millions at risk of devastating floods and damaging water routes that billions of people depend on for hydroelectric energy and agriculture. Stefan Uhlenbrook, the director of water and cryosphere at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said that about 275,000 glaciers remain globally which, along with the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, comprise about 70% of the world's freshwater. "We need to advance our scientific knowledge, we need to advance through better observing systems, through better forecasts and better early warning systems for the planet and the people," Uhlenbrook said. DANGERS AND DEITIES About 1.1 billion people live in mountain communities, which suffer the most immediate impacts of glacier loss, due to the increasing risks with natural hazards and unreliable water sources. The remote locations and difficult terrains also make cheap fixes difficult to come by. Rising temperatures are expected to worsen droughts in areas that rely on snowpack for freshwater, while increasing both the severity and frequency of hazards like avalanches, landslides, flash floods and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). One Peruvian farmer living downstream of a retreating glacier has taken the issue to court, suing German energy giant RWE for a portion of the glacial lake's flood defenses proportionate to its historic global emissions. "The changes we see in the field are literally heartbreaking," glaciologist Heidi Sevestre, secretariat at the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, told Reuters outside the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on Wednesday. "Things in certain regions are happening actually much faster than we anticipated," Sevestre added, noting a recent trip to the Rwenzori Mountains, located in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in East Africa, where glaciers are now expected to disappear by 2030. Sevestre has worked with the region's indigenous Bakonzo communities who believe a deity called Kitasamba lives in the glaciers. "Can you imagine the deep spiritual connection, this strong attachment they have towards the glaciers and what it might mean for them that their glaciers are disappearing?" Sevestre said. Glacial melt in East Africa has led to increased local conflicts over water, according to the new UNESCO report, and while the impact on a global scale is minimal, the trickle of melting glaciers around the world is having a compounding impact. Between 2000 and 2023, melting mountain glaciers have caused 18 millimeters of global sea level rise, about 1 mm per year. Every millimeter can expose up to 300,000 people to annual flooding, according to the World Glacier Monitoring Service. "Billions of people are connected to glaciers, whether they know it or not, and that will require billions of people to protect them," Sevestre said.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
World's glaciers are losing enough ice to fill 3 Olympic pools every second, terrifying new study finds
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Earth's glaciers lost 300 billion tons (273 billion metric tons) of ice every year on average between 2000 and 2023, amounting to a 5% decline in volume since the start of the millennium, a groundbreaking new study finds. The loss equates to roughly three Olympic swimming pools' worth of ice melting or breaking off from glaciers every second, according to the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), which was involved in the study together with dozens of other research institutions. This startling decline is the result of global warming driven by our ballooning greenhouse gas emissions. "We expected to find that glaciers are melting, but the amount of ice lost in the past few years is shocking even for us scientists," said lead author Michael Zemp, a professor at the University of Zurich and director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service. The results revealed extreme losses in glaciers in Europe's Alps and Pyrenees mountains, with both regions showing a 40% decline in glacier volume over the study period. "In the European Alps, glaciers lost 10% of their ice in just two single years," Zemp told Live Science in an email. Related: Alaska's ice is melting in front of our eyes, staggering satellite shots show For the study, researchers compiled satellite data and direct measurements of every glacier region in the world except the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, which are both so big they have a delayed response to warming, Zemp said. Scientists gathered and converted hundreds of glacier-related datasets into time series that they could then analyze to paint a global picture of how glaciers have changed over time. "Over the past 20 years we got a wealth of satellite sensors to estimate glacier elevation and mass changes," Zemp said. "While agreeing in general about glacier melt, the exact numbers differed quite a bit from sensor to sensor" — hence the need to convert all the numbers to one format, Zemp said. The results, published Wednesday (Feb. 19) in the journal Nature, revealed stark regional differences in ice loss during the study period. Glaciers in the Alps and Pyrenees experienced the greatest decline relative to their size, while glaciers on the subantarctic islands only lost about 2% of their ice, according to a statement from the University of Zurich. Researchers also found a 36% increase in annual ice loss between the first half of the study period, between 2000 and 2011, and the second half, between 2012 and 2023, suggesting that ice loss is accelerating. Excluding the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, glaciers worldwide held about 134,182 billion tons (121,728 billion metric tons) of ice in 2000. By 2023, that figure had dropped to about 126,971 billion tons (115,186 billion metric tons), according to the study. The volume of ice lost from glaciers during the study period caused global sea levels to rise by 0.7 inches (18 millimeters), the researchers noted, which is 0.1 inches (2.5 mm) more than the Greenland Ice Sheet has contributed to sea level rise since the 1990s. Sea level rise is not the only risk linked to glaciers melting. "Glaciers are vital freshwater resources, especially for local communities in Central Asia and Central Andes," study co-author Inés Dussaillant Lehmann, a postdoctoral researcher and glaciologist at the University of Zurich, said in the statement. Dwindling freshwater reserves from glaciers could threaten water security in these regions, according to the statement. The new research is the first to paint a consistent global picture of glacier ice loss and will provide a foundation for similar studies in the future, said Samuel Cook, a glacier modeling expert and junior research group leader at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany who was not involved in the study. "This is about as robust a piece of global-scale data analysis as it's possible to have," Cook told Live Science in an email. "The thing that stands out to me is the sheer methodical thoroughness of the authors and the scale of the study." RELATED STORIES —Watch Greenland lose 563 cubic miles of ice in under 30 seconds in disturbing new time-lapse video —Greenland's glaciers are melting 100 times faster than estimated —El Niño kickstarted the melting of Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier' 80 years ago, new study reveals The first quarter of the 21st century saw glaciers worldwide decline by 5% — but this is just a fraction of what could unfold over the next decades. Previous modeling revealed that at least 25% of the ice that remains in glaciers today will be lost by 2100 even if we slash our greenhouse gas emissions, because glaciers have a delayed response to climate change, Zemp said. Should emissions remain the same or increase, the world could lose 50% of its remaining glacier ice by the end of this century, he said. Only immediate action can stave off the worst outcomes, Zemp said. "Every tenth of a degree [Celsius] of avoided warming will help to preserve glaciers and will save us from related downstream impacts," he said.
